Combined request and mailing sheet.



No. 699,799.. Patentn 1an. 7, |902.

n. L'. TAYLOR.

COMBINED REQUEST AND MAILING SHEET.

(Application filed Mar. 15, 1900.)

(No Model.)

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vUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID L. TAYLOR, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

COMBINED REQUESTAND MAILING .eI-IEE-r.

SPECIFICATION' forming part of Letters Patent N o. 690,793, datedJanuary '7, 1902. Application filed March 15, 1900. Serial No. 8,761.(No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID L. TAYLOR, a citizen ofthe United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in aCombined Request and Mailing Sheet, of which the following is aspecification'.

My invention relates to a combined request and mailing sheet, andparticularly to a sheet bearing printed information which is bound inwith a periodical and adapted to be removed therefrom and folded fortransmission through the mails in the form of an envelop.

At the present time various means are employed by advertisers forchecking up their advertisements and crediting particular periodicals inaccordance with the number of inquiries and business received andtraceable thereto. For example, many advertisers include a request thatthe correspondent will mention the name of the magazinein which theadvertisement that attracted his attention appeared; but correspondentsfrequently neglect to do this, and unless some additional checks areemployed it is impossible to determine from what source thecorrespondentsecuredv the information which led him to communicate withthe advertiser. In addition to this it is a well-known fact that thebenet of some advertising is lost because those persons who are reallyattracted by and interested in the advertisements and the business towhich they relate will not take the time and trouble to opencorrespondence with each par-I ticular advertiser.

The object of my invention, therefore, is to provide an easy way forthose who are or may, perhaps, become interested to secure circulars,price-lists, 85e., andopen correspondence with a number of advertiserswithout necessitating a direct and personal communication to each.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and accuratemethod of checking the returns received from advertisements, so that theproper credit, las shown by responses and business, may be given to thesource from which the information resulting in the inquiry was derived;and a further object of the invention is to provide a requestsheetbearing certain information which can integral page of the periodical.

be bound up in a periodical and afterward readily removed therefrom andfolded in the form of van envelop and sealed so that it can be passedthrough the mails.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, Figure l showsone side. of the sheet, and Fig. 2 the back thereof. Fig.3 shows thesheet paitly folded, and Fig. 4 shows the sheet folded on the secondfold. Fig. 5 shows the sheet folded the second time and with the sectionI cut out, andFig. 6 illustrates the sheet completely folded in the formof an envelop and ready for mailing.

Referring to the drawings, in which like letters of reference denotecorresponding parts iniall figures, A designates the sheet, which may bemade out of any material and of any color and shape; but it ispreferably made of a color-distinguishing itvfrom the other pages of theperiodical and of the same size as the pages of the periodicah'so thatit" can be bound in at the section A,preferably at the beginning of theadvertising pages, and to all intents and purposes constituting an Thissheet is adapted to be removed from the book by tearing the sheet on theline B B, which may be simply indicated by a broken line or by a line ofperforations.

The sheet is adapted to be folded three times-'iirst,ou the line C C;second,on the line D D, and, third, on the line E E-so asto make it ofconvenient shape for mailing and correspending in shape to an envelop.

On the face of the sheet I print a list of all or any number of theadvertisers in the periodical, headed by suitable directions as to thepurpose for and the mannerin which the sheet is to be used, and on thissame side, which, it will be observed, is the inside when the sheet isfolded for mailing, I prefer to have a section H, in which the inquirerWrites` his name and address; but this may be done on the'section G orelsewhere. On the back of the sheet and yin one section F thereof in theupper half of the sheet I print the address of the addressee, so thatwhen the sheet is folded this address will appear uppermost on the frontof the mailing-envelop formed ,by folding the sheet. Itis apparent thatany ad-l dress may be employed which will carry the sheet to the' properpersonpand also that this IOO address may be placed in the section G, ifdesired. It will also he apparent that I may arrange the section II forthe name and address of the inquirer in some other position on the faceof the sheet and that the list of advertisers may be differentlyarranged on the face of the sheet and also extended over to the lowerhalf of the back of the sheet, or the inquirers name and address may beplaced on this lower portion of the back of the sheet.

In order to fold the sheet in a convenient and simple manner for mailingand so that it will pass through the mails without being torn ordisfignred, I arrange the folds so as to leave a flap at one side, whichcan be tucked under the section F, Figs. 4 and 5, and I may cut out thesection I on the lines .I E and E E, Fig. l, so as to leave the sectionL in the form of a single flap, Fig. o, instead of having the doubleflap constituted by the section I folded on the section L, as shown inFigs. 3 and 4. l

As an additional fastening device I may cut out the section, such as M,in some part of the address-section F which will disclose the fiapthrough the address-section When the sheet has been folded as aforesaid,and then I place the mailing-stamp on the address-section directly overthe hole left therein by the removal of section M, so that it willadhere both to the address-section around the edges of the hole and alsoto the flap thereunder. In this way I provide an effectual sealingdevice for the sheet, which will retain the sheet in its envelop formand which cannot be disturbed without completely mutilating the stamp.If the section I is removed, I prefer to leave the lower edge portion Nof the single flap L square, so that When folded as hereinbeforedescribed it will Iit closely in the fold on the line C C, and beingheld therein by the stamp will maintain the sheet in its envelop form atall times.

In order to facilitate the use of this iinproved request and mailingsheet, I prefer to print thereon proper directions for folding andcutting and may indicate the lines of folds by broken or dotted lines,perforations, or otherwise, with directions adjacent to the line C C tofold up from the bottom on this line iirst, and directions adjacent tothe line D D to fold on this line second, and directions adjacent to theline E E to fold on this line and tuck the iiap under theaddress-section, which would be disclosed through the hole in theaddress-section, and a direction on the flap beneath the hole for afxingthe stamp thereover.

I am aware that various changes may be made in the location andarrangement of the printed matter and that the folding may beaccomplished by proceeding in ay different manner and also that thesheet may be sealed for mailing by leaving the section M in the sheetand aftixing the stamp overlapping the upper edges of the section F andthe Hap. I

reserve the right to make such changes as fairly fall Within the spiritand scope of the invention.

In practice the sheet will be bound or other- Wise fastened in theperiodical and bear under the directions on its face a list of all theadvertisers in the periodical, with such additional information relatingto their business as may be desired, and I also prefer to have on theface of the sheet asection II, in which the name and address of theinquirer Will be Written. A person looking over the advertisements anddesiring to secure circulars relating to a certain subject, such assporting goods or photographic apparatus, will turn to this sheet, tearit out of the book on the line B B, and check off the names of those whoadvertise the articles he is interested in, after which he will writehis name and address in the section H. The inquirer, Who thus indirectlybecomes a correspondent with each of these advertisers, will then foldthe sheet up on the line C C, then on the line D D, and finally on theline E E, tucking the iiap under the address-section, which appearsuppermost, and alfixing the stampin the manner described. If the sectionI is removed, the sheet is folded in the same manner and the single flapformed by the section L is tucked under the section F. The mailingsheetwill then be mailed and delivered in accordance with the printedaddress, which I contemplate will be at the oiiice of the publisher ofthe magazine from which the sheet was removed, or to some other placewhere the business will be attended to, and the advertisers whose namesare checked will be notified by the recipient of the sheet that theinquirer who sent the sheet desires circulars and price-lists and otherinformation for general distribution which relate to the articlesadvertised in the magazine from which the sheet was taken. This givesthe advertiser an opportunity for correctly crediting the 4magazine withthe business secured through his advertisement therein, and it alsoplaces in the possession of the publisher indisputable evidence of theactual number of inquiries resulting from the advertising, themailing-sheet constitu ting an absolute record in his hands which can bepreserved for future reference.

The casual reader of the advertisements in a magazine will be attractedby the simplicity of this method of securing information from a numberof advertisers, and as he can in this Way communicate with a number ofadvertisers by one letter Without a `direct communication to eachadvertiser he will be more apt to increase his requests for circularsand extend them over a broader field, thereby inp creasing the value ofthe advertisement to the advertiser and the publisher and bringing tothe inquirei information which may` result to the mutual benefit ofhimself and the advertiser.

The lines of folds may be indicated in any,T

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way desired, and the line B B and E J E E, as well as the lines formingsection- M, may be ,made by perforations which will facilitate theremoval of the sheet from the periodical and the sections I M from thesheet. Instead of using the stamp as a sealing device I may provide aslit, as indicated bythe bro. kenline P Q in Fig. 4, and out away thecorner of the iap on the lines R S, so that the iiap may be inserted insaid slit. The line s E E may be shown on the face of the sheet or onthe back thereof, or it may be omitted entirely, Vand the line D D mayextend fromtopside thereof a designated space for a list of names and adesignated space fol` a Written address, a printed ad dress on the otherside of the sheet'ina corner section thereof bounded by adjacent sideedges of the sheet and adjacent lines of folding and constituting theface of the envelop when the sheet is folded and l directions on thesheet for folding the sheet twice on transverse lines to leave aHap-section and then tucking said flap-section in between the folds ofthe opposite section, substantially as described.

2. A combined request and mailing sheet, comprising a rectangular sheethaving a designated space for a list of names, a space for la writtenaddress, a printed-address section comprising a rectangular sheet havinga designated space for a list of names, a space for y a written address,a printed-address section which constitutes the face of the envelop whenthe sheet is folded, a designated section in said printed-addresssection to be cut out, a designated section opposite the printed-addresssection to be cut out to leave a flap-section, and directions forfolding the sheet twice on transverse lines and then tucking theflap-section under -that part of the address-section which contains thecut-out section and applying a sealing device around the edges of thesection cut out of the ad dress-section and on that part of theiapsection exposed by said cut-out section, substantially as described..

Signed by me' at'Chicago, Illinois, this 12th day of March, 1900. l

DAVID L. TAYLOR.

